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Costa Cruise Ships By Size, Age and Class

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Costa Cruises is one of the cheapest cruise lines in Europe, offering a range of itineraries not just around the Mediterranean but also further afield, including the Caribbean, South America and more.

Cruise Mummy with Costa Smeralda

The Costa fleet is not quite as large as the biggest cruise lines in the world, but there are still various ships you can choose between depending on the kind of experience you want onboard.

In this guide, I’ll break down the full range of Costa cruise ships by their size, how old they are, and the different classes available.

Costa ships: biggest to smallest

Here’s a look at all of the Costa Cruises ships from largest to smallest.

Ship Gross Tonnage Length Decks ( For Guests) Guests Crew
Costa Toscana 185,010 1105 ft / 337 m 18 (16) 6,554 1,646
Costa Smeralda 185,010 1105 ft / 337 m 18 (16) 6,554 1,646
Costa Diadema 133,019 1,003 ft / 306 m 15 (15) 4,927 1,253
Costa Fascinosa 114,500 950 ft / 290 m 14 (14) 3,700 1,100
Costa Favolosa 114,500 950 ft / 290 m 14 (14) 3,700 1,100
Costa Pacifica 114,500 950 ft / 290 m 14 (14) 3,700 1,100
Costa Serena 114,500 950 ft / 290 m 14 (14) 3,700 1,100
Costa Fortuna 102,669 893 ft / 272 m 14 (14) 3,470 1,090
Costa Deliziosa 92,720 964 ft / 294 m 13 (13) 2,828 934

Typically when comparing cruise ship sizes, you base it on gross tonnage – which, despite the name, is nothing to do with weight but is actually a measurement of the internal volume of the ship. The higher the number, the more ‘space’ onboard.

That’s why I’ve ranked Costa Deliziosa bottom, despite her being longer than some of the other ships on the list. Because she has one fewer deck, she has less space overall.

Those capacity figures are also the maximum capacity, if every room capable of sleeping 3 or 4 guests was at full occupancy. In most cases, they won’t be, since there will often be a lot of couples or pairs of friends sailing, so it’s rare for the ships to reach those numbers.

And one final interesting note with Costa – all of the ships barring the two biggest have a Deck 0, and it’s accessible to guests on the ship too. However, you should hope you don’t end up there, as the only guest facilities on that deck are the medical area/hospital. Otherwise, it’s a crew-only deck.

The two biggest Costa Cruises ships are Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda. These ships are part of the Excellence Class, and are not just the biggest ships ever built for Costa Cruises but they are also the first to be powered by LNG, a cleaner fuel type.

Aerial view of the Costa Smeralda cruise ship sailing on the open sea, featuring multiple decks with yellow lifeboats, a distinctive yellow funnel with a blue 'C' logo, and a wake of white foam on the blue water.
Costa Smeralda

These ships, as of 2024, make the list of the top 10 largest cruise ships in the world. However, in 2025, they will drop out as several ships measuring over 200,000 gross tonnes will launch.

The smallest cruise ship in the Costa fleet is the Costa Deliziosa – with a gross tonnage of 92,720, she is almost half the size of the biggest ships in the fleet. She is still not considered a small cruise ship as she can accommodate almost 3,000 guests.

None of the ships in the Costa fleet are small, so if you like the idea of a more intimate atmosphere onboard then it may not be the cruise line for you. But there is a very different experience on the smaller ships in the fleet compared to the biggest, with the larger ships definitely feeling busier, but compensating for that with more dining and entertainment options.

The Costa Deliziosa cruise ship captured from a side angle as it cruises on the deep blue ocean. Its white structure adorned with rows of balconies and distinctive yellow lifeboats is complemented by the ship's yellow funnel featuring a blue 'C' emblem, cruising under a bright blue sky with light wispy clouds.
Costa Deliziosa

Costa ships from newest to oldest

Here’s a look at the fleet now arranged by age, from newest to oldest. You won’t notice a huge difference between this and the ships arranged by size:

Ship Class Year Launched Last Refurbished
Costa Toscana Excellence 2021 N/A
Costa Smeralda Excellence 2019 N/A
Costa Diadema Diadema 2014 N/A
Costa Fascinosa Concordia 2012 2018
Costa Favolosa Concordia 2011 2018
Costa Deliziosa Luminosa 2010 2018
Costa Pacifica Concordia 2009 2017
Costa Serena Concordia 2007 2023
Costa Fortuna Fortuna 2003 2018

The newest cruise ship in the Costa fleet is Costa Toscana. She’s also tied for the biggest ship in the fleet, alongside her twin sister Costa Smeralda. She made her maiden voyage in March 2021.

The Costa Toscana cruise ship is gliding through calm seas, captured from an aerial perspective. The ship's multiple decks with blue and white striped design, yellow lifeboats, and iconic yellow funnel with a 'C' logo are visible, contrasted against a tranquil marine backdrop with soft cloud cover.
Costa Toscana

The oldest Costa Cruises ship still sailing for the cruise line is Costa Fortuna, which has been sailing for over 20 years for the cruise line and was last refurbished in 2018. 

The Costa Fortuna cruise ship moored in a fjord, surrounded by steep green mountains. The ship's white exterior with yellow lifeboats and prominent yellow funnel with a 'C' logo stands out in the natural beauty of the setting, while a small pier with people adds scale to the serene scene.
Costa Fortuna

Costa Cruises has existed since the mid-20th Century and so has seen many older cruise ships come and go. Costa Fortuna did have a sister ship, the Costa Magica, but she was sold to Seajets in 2023 and renamed as the Mykonos Magic.

Unfortunately, the reviews for Costa Fortuna aren’t good, as you can see here.

Costa Cruises ship classes

There are currently five classes of ship in the Costa Cruises fleet – Excellence, Diadema, Luminosa, Concordia, and Fortuna. Several of these classes are part of wider ship classes for the Carnival group, with sister ships in other fleets.

The Carnival Group includes several cruise lines and has various classes of ship. The ships within these classes aren’t identical in size but will usually be pretty similar, though the onboard features will be tailored to the specific cruise line.

Here’s a quick look at the ship classes before we delve into each in a little more detail:

Ship Costa Class Wider Carnival Group Class
Costa Toscana Excellence Excellence
Costa Smeralda Excellence Excellence
Costa Diadema Diadema Dream
Costa Deliziosa Luminosa Vista-Spirit
Costa Fascinosa Concordia Concordia
Costa Favolosa Concordia Concordia
Costa Pacifica Concordia Concordia
Costa Serena Concordia Concordia
Costa Fortuna Fortuna Destiny/Sunshine

Excellence Class

There are two Excellence Class ships in the Costa fleet – Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda. They are part of the wider Excellence Class which includes ships such as P&O Cruises’ Iona and Arvia, and Carnival’s Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee.

Costa Smeralda
Costa Smeralda

Suggested read: My Costa Smeralda Review

Diadema Class

Costa Diadema is the only ship in Costa’s Diadema Class. It’s part of the wider Dream Class, which includes three Carnival ships including the Carnival Dream. Costa Diadema is the largest of this class.

An aerial view of the Costa Diadema cruise ship traveling on a sunlit sea, its wake forming a V-shaped pattern in the water. The ship's deck is lined with yellow lifeboats, and its large yellow funnel stands out with the letter 'C' against the deep blue of the ocean.
Costa Diadema

Luminosa Class

The Luminosa Class includes only one ship in the Costa fleet, the Costa Deliziosa. It was named originally for the Costa Luminosa, before she transferred to Carnival and became the Carnival Luminosa. Two Cunard ships – Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth – are also part of this wider class.

The Carnival Luminosa cruise ship is captured cruising on a clear day with its red and black funnel standing out against the ship's white structure with yellow lifeboats. The name 'CARNIVAL LUMINOSA' is prominently displayed on the hull, highlighting the ship's identity as it makes its way across the serene blue waters.

Concordia Class

There are currently four ships in the Concordia Class for Costa – Costa Serena, Costa Pacifica, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa. There was a fifth, for which the class was named – the Costa Concordia, which sank in 2012. Carnival’s ship Carnival Splendor is part of this wider class.

Fortuna Class

The Fortuna Class for Costa only includes one ship, the Costa Fortuna. The Costa Magica was once part of this class too, but was sold in 2023. It’s a sub-class of the Sunshine Class, formerly the Destiny Class, including three Carnival ships.

The Costa Fortuna cruise ship is showcased in full sail across the open sea, captured from a high angle showcasing its white structure, multiple decks with rows of windows, and a prominent yellow funnel with the 'C' logo. In the background, a distant coastline with mountains can be seen under a clear blue sky.
Costa Fortuna

The best Costa Cruises ships

For most guests, the best Costa Cruises ships are the two biggest and newest, the Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda. They are in the best condition and have the most variety of dining options and activities to enjoy onboard.

However, because Costa’s cruises are cheap, that does mean that you’ll rarely find cruises on these ships that are below 60% capacity, and even at that level this can make them feel quite crowded at times. Indeed, both ships make the list of the 12 worst cruise ships according to customer reviews.

If you prefer a quieter experience then you may find the smaller ships are more appealing, especially Costa Deliziosa, which is the smallest but not the oldest. Again though, it doesn’t have the best reviews.

For anyone choosing Costa, as long as you understand what kind of experience to expect, you can still have a great time, but it makes sense to choose a ship that’s best suited to the style of cruising you enjoy.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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The REAL Reasons Costa Cruises Are So Cheap!

by with No Comment Costa CruisesCruise LinesCruise NewsCruise Tips


Costa Cruises are ridiculously cheap. I recently paid just £30 per day for a balcony cabin at solo occupancy. Surely, Costa Cruises isn’t making any profit on that, right?

According to my research about how much cruises cost with each cruise line, Costa cruises cost around 40% less than the average cruise.

The Costa Smeralda cruise ship docked in a port on a clear day, its white and blue balconies visible against the backdrop of a blue sky with fluffy clouds and distant mountains.

So you may be wondering why they’re so cheap. Can you still have a fun time on a cruise this cheap, or will you hate every minute of your time on board?

In this article, I’ll explain exactly why Costa cruises are so cheap. This will help you decide whether to give this cruise line a try, or to save your money for something better.

Costa Cruises ships are pretty nice

I cruised on Costa Smeralda, one of the newest ships in the Costa Cruises fleet, and I thought it looked pretty good. It was clean, modern and well-designed.

Interior of the Costa Smeralda featuring a teal replica of the Statue of Liberty, surrounded by lush green potted plants, under a ceiling of colorful destination signs and digital screens.

Costa Cruises is owned by Carnival Corporation. The hull of Costa Smeralda is the same as other ships owned by the same parent company, like P&O Cruises Iona and Arvia, Carnival Celebration, Jubilee and Mardi Gras, and AIDAnova and AIDAcosma.

Carnival Corporation is a huge company, and using the same design for all of these ships gives economy of scale. The decor is pretty nice too, although there are some weird quirks, like not being able to see the stage very well in the theatre, or having a weird window in the shower!

Costa Smeralda balcony room featuring a unique window looking into the shower.

Costa Cruises has ten ships. If you choose one of the older, smaller ships like Costa Fortuna which is now over 20 years old and around half the size of the newer ships, you may not have the same experience. 

In fact, Costa Fortuna was named as the world’s worst cruise ship according to a compilation of reviews from Cruise Critic, Cruiseline.com and TripAdvisor.

The Costa Fortuna cruise ship is showcased in full sail across the open sea, captured from a high angle showcasing its white structure, multiple decks with rows of windows, and a prominent yellow funnel with the 'C' logo. In the background, a distant coastline with mountains can be seen under a clear blue sky.
Costa Fortuna

But then Costa Smeralda came in at number six, so booking one of the newer ships won’t guarantee that everything will be okay.

Guests embark and disembark at every port

With Costa Cruises, and also with MSC Cruises, you’ll find that guests can start and end their cruise at various points. So, rather than everyone taking a round-trip from Barcelona, you’ll have guests starting their cruise at each of the ports of call along the way.

Although Costa is an Italian cruise line, the guest demographic is a real mix of Italian, Spanish, German and French, as well as some Brits and some guests from Portugal, the Netherlands and other European countries.

This model means that Costa can attract cruisers from a wider geographic area, but it also means that there are some shorter, one-way itineraries that it struggles to fill. For example, you may find a three-day cruise from Marseille to Savona that nobody really wants.

It’s these cruises that typically have the lowest prices. Costa doesn’t want empty cabins, so they’ll offer low prices to claw some of their money back, even if they make a loss.

The same happens with transatlantic cruises, and you may be able to enjoy two weeks at sea for as little as £300, so long as you’re willing to fly somewhere awkward like Guadaloupe to start your cruise back to Europe.

The Costa Favolosa cruise ship moored in Amsterdam, with its distinctive yellow funnel and multiple decks, set against the backdrop of the city's modern buildings and the calm waters in the foreground.
Costa Favolosa in Amsterdam

Refurbishments may be carried out during your cruise

Cruise ships have periods where they’ll have no guests on board so that they can carry out maintenance. I can only speak from my personal experience, but on the cruise I took, it appeared that they chose to instead carry out those repairs during a cruise with paying guests.

For most of my cruise, the main pool and only outdoor hot tub were closed, as was most of the promenade deck and several other venues such as the outdoor cafes.

An area of the Costa Smeralda's deck is cordoned off for maintenance, with a sign reading 'Manutenzione in corso,' alongside comfortable outdoor lounge seating, with the early evening sky reflecting off the glass panes above.

The guest-to-crew ratio is high on Costa Cruises

Ultra-luxury cruise ships have more crew members than guests. Most mainstream cruises have around three crew members for every guest. Costa Cruises, however, has one of the highest guest-to-crew ratios of all, at four to one.

This means that the crew members have to work extra hard to look after all of the guests. You may experience longer queues at reception, slower service in the dining rooms and it may take a little longer for any rubbish to be cleared away.

After all, with over 1,000 crew members on a typical ship, wages are one of the highest expenses a cruise line faces. And having fewer crew members is one of the ways that Costa Cruises keeps prices low.

A crew member of Costa Cruises attentively making a bed, with a focus on comfort and neatness, showcasing the detailed and personal care provided onboard, complemented by the warm interior colors and natural light from the cabin window.

Costa Cruises pricing doesn’t include gratuities

Some cruise lines include tips for the staff as part of your cruise fare, but Costa Cruises adds this on and you’ll pay it at the end of your cruise. The gratuities are 11 Euros per day for adults and 5.50 Euros per day for kids, so you’ll need to budget for that.

While you can go to guest services and ask for your gratuities to be removed, I wouldn’t recommend doing that. The crew members work very hard for long hours and relatively low pay, so they rely on the gratuities to top that up.

While some people opt to remove gratuities and tip in cash, this can negatively affect the workers behind the scenes who you don’t always have direct contact with.

In addition to that, a 15% gratuity is added on to every drink that you buy. So the price you see on the menu isn’t the price you pay.

Costs Cruises charges for water in the main dining room

Each cruise line varies in terms of what’s included when it comes to drinks, but Costa Cruises has one of the stingiest policies of all, even charging for water in the main dining room.

Water is available free of charge in the buffet (when its open) and you can drink the tap water in your cabin. But there are no water fountains around the ship and in the restaurants, your only option is to buy one-litre bottles for 4 Euros.

Cruise Mummy holds a transparent bottle of San Benedetto still water with a Costa Smeralda receipt attached, indicating a recent purchase onboard the cruise, set against a geometrically patterned pastel background.

You don’t have to drink it all at once though – you’re welcome to leave any unfinished water (or wine) and it will be saved for you and brought back to your table the following evening.

Tea and coffee are free of charge in the buffet, and you’ll also get fruit juices at breakfast time.

On a polished wooden table aboard the Costa Smeralda, a refreshing set of drinks is presented: a glass of water, a mug of black coffee, and a glass of milk, against the backdrop of the ship's cozy interior seating area.

You may be better off with a drinks package, although you do need to drink quite a lot to ‘break even’. The easiest way to find out if you should get one or not is to use my drinks package calculator to work it out.

The food on Costa Cruises can be hit-and-miss

If you’re a foodie, a Costa Cruise probably isn’t for you. Likewise, if you are vegan, have a food allergy or intolerance, or fussy kids, you might want to choose another cruise line.

The buffet is pretty small, nothing is labelled for people who need to know what the ingredients are, and the crew members aren’t the best at helping. This is understandable, given that they have to deal with guests speaking a whole variety of languages!

The main dining room serves four-course meals which is great, because you probably won’t like all of them. I saw pink chicken being served, the soup was usually room temperature and some of the dishes were a little ‘odd’.

A plate of couscous garnished with parsley, exemplifying the variety of international cuisine available in the main dining room on the Costa cruise ship.
A traditional Italian omelette served with fresh tomato wedges, showcasing the authentic and fresh ingredients used in the Costa cruise ship's main dining room.
A vibrant orange pumpkin soup in a white bowl, indicative of the gourmet culinary offerings in the main dining room on the Costa cruise ship.
A creamy green pea soup served in a white bowl, capturing the simplicity and elegance of dining aboard the Costa cruise ship.

That said, the pasta in the buffet is some of the best I’ve ever had, and some of the dishes in the main dining room were really nice. So it’s a bit hit-and-miss. I suggest bringing snacks.

Food that you may expect to be included such as poolside pizza, chips and ice cream all costs extra. It’s not a lot extra, just a few Euros, but it’s one of the ways that Costa manages to make their cruises so cheap.

A casual dining scene on the Costa cruise ship with a paper box of golden French fries open beside a small container of ketchup, and a 'The really Italian street food' paper bag on the table, with the ocean view in the distance.

The entertainment on Costa Cruises isn’t amazing

It’s always a challenge to make entertainment that’s suitable for all nationalities and all ages. Comedians are a no-go, singers can be tricky. Costa Cruises’ solution to this is to have a troupe of dancers that wear jazzy costumes and do the occasional backflip. 

The entertainment is okay, but the shows are nothing compared to the West End-style productions you’ll see in other ships.

Passengers on the Costa cruise ship enjoy a vibrant live performance in the multi-tiered theater, with stage lights casting a glow on the performers and the audience immersed in the entertainment.

The bottom line

If you manage to get a good deal on your cruise, then a Costa cruise can offer fantastic value for money. If your budget is under £40 per day, then your options likely include a cheap Costa cruise or a camping trip, and I know which I’d rather do!

However, not all Costa cruises are as cheap as this. And so if you can cruise with any other cruise line for a similar price, then I would do that. After all, you do get what you pay for, and you may get a more enjoyable experience elsewhere.

NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!

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Cruise Mummy

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

Read more about me





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